National Football League

Seattle laments end of an era as Seahawks deal Russell Wilson

Updated Mar. 9, 2022 11:46 a.m. ET

By Kevin Jackson
FOX Sports Managing Editor

‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. — Alfred Lord Tennyson

Tennyson was clearly a Seattle sports fan.

They might not teach you that in English 202, but there’s no other way to explain the British poet’s rational perspective on how to respond to losing someone very special.

Most fans of the Seattle Seahawks are in no mood for that Tennyson quote today. They’re not quite ready for reflection or appreciation.

Not after seeing the Hawks deal away franchise quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos for a package that included five draft picks and three veteran players.

The kitchen is officially closed in Seattle, so there’ll be no more "cooking" from the most electric player in Seahawks history.

No more "Go Hawks" at the end of every interview.

No more "Mr. Unlimited" or "Eat the ball" or "Nano bubbles" or any other promotional gimmicks.

No more announcing contract extensions on social media while lying in bed with his pop-star wife.

No more perfect "moon balls" to DK or No E or making magic out of disaster in the backfield or coolly leading that frantic drive in the final two minutes.

And no more offseason distractions, cryptic social posts or passive-aggressive threats about playing baseball or moving to a big market.

That last part is the only thing Seahawks fans won’t miss about their nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback.

Blockbuster Move!

Colin Cowherd explains why Russell Wilson being traded to Denver ranks as one of the biggest NFL trades of Cowherd's career.

The fears have been realized. It wasn’t a media-crazed storm. The Seahawks have actually traded away the face of the franchise, even though he was under contract for two more seasons.

Forgive me while I read that last sentence again and let the reality sink in.

The fact that the compensation the Seahawks received in return barely exceeds what Seattle gave up two years ago for safety Jamal Adams … well, I just can't.

When you grow up a Seattle sports fan, you live in a constant state of fear that the city’s superstars will eventually bolt the Northwest for a bigger city, a glitzier city or, heck, a city that doesn’t require a layover to travel to other major markets.

It’s an odd mentality — not that different from the inferiority complex Boston shares with New York, only you’re worried that your city is so remote that it’s not even on the national radar.

Seattle had Ken Griffey Jr. at age 19, the greatest baseball player of his generation and the guy responsible for leading the Mariners to their first two postseason appearances and literally out of the dark (of the Kingdome) and into the light (of Safeco Field).

Seattle lost Griffey at age 30, when the Mariners granted The Kid’s wish to "go home" and dealt him to Cincinnati. (Yeah, all those years spent worrying about Junior going to the Yankees, and he ended up with the small-market Reds!)

That deal came 18 months after Seattle traded away Randy Johnson — only one of the best left-handed pitchers in MLB history — and 10 months before Alex Rodriguez would leave for Texas and what was then the richest contract in baseball history.

(And now the fear in Seattle is that Russ will experience the same sort of career revival that the Big Unit enjoyed after leaving Seattle and that the second half of his career will be filled with records and championships as he approaches his late 30s.)

Three generational baseball players, all gone in less than three years and all without one World Series appearance to show for it.

And you wonder why "Ichiro + Yankees" was such a popular search for Seattle fans throughout the 2000s — right until the day in July 2012 when the M’s traded the future Hall of Fame hit machine to … yes, the Yankees.

While the Mariners’ penchant for shedding talent was unprecedented, let’s not forget that the Sonics traded away dunking manchild Shawn Kemp at age 27, and Gary Payton won his long-awaited title in Miami, not in the tiny arena at the base of Queen Anne Hill.

Heck, the city lost its entire NBA franchise in 2008 — a realized fear that not even the most paranoid Seattle fan ever pondered as a possibility.

But the Seahawks … the Pete Carroll Seahawks … they were supposed to have changed all that in the early 2010s.

They were brash and bold. They were winners, and they weren’t shy about telling you how good they were. They made Seattle cool. Suddenly, the city with the inferiority complex was getting in people’s faces.

I can’t possibly sum it up better than actor Kurt Russell did in this introduction video before Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014.

The Seahawks didn’t just blow away the Broncos on that unseasonably warm night in New York. They blew away all the old insecurities that our city was just a stopover for big names in "Southeast Alaska" before they moved on to bigger things.

Yeah, Malcolm Butler happened 364 days later.

And, yeah, Earl and Sherm left unceremoniously, and Kam, Doug, Cliff and Marshawn retired early — and then briefly returned to Seattle, in Marshawn’s case. Late Tuesday, Bobby Wagner joined the list when it was reported the Seahawks were releasing the perennial All-Pro linebacker.

But Russell …

Russell would definitely play his whole career in Seattle, where he had become such a part of the community that he won the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2020 for his work in the city.

Yeah, No. 3 was a bit weird. But he was "our" weird.

Teams can spend decades looking for the right guy under center — speaking of which, Russ, welcome to Denver — and Seattle found its savior with the 75th pick. That miracle in the third round made it worth suffering through Dan McGwire, Kelly Stouffer, Rick Mirer and Charlie Whitehurst.

Franchise QBs don’t get traded in the NFL. They especially don’t get traded when their team has made them the highest-paid player in football on two occasions.

They might gripe. They might ask for more control. Or more "superstars" on the roster. Or to quit "getting hit" so many damn times.

But they work things out, and they stay.

At least, that’s what I thought until Tuesday.

If you look at the list of the best athletes in Seattle history, you’ll find names such as Griffey, Payton, Kemp, A-Rod and the Big Unit. They all left.

But when you look at the most beloved athletes in Seattle lore, you’ll find Edgar Martinez, Nate McMillan, Sue Bird, Walter Jones and Steve Largent. They all stayed, playing in the Northwest from start to finish.

Russell no longer has a chance to be on both lists.

He might be the best Seahawk ever, and he’s easily the best quarterback the city has ever seen.

But he won’t be remembered as unequivocally beloved, and that’s a shame.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to begin worrying about DK Metcalf’s upcoming trade demands.

Kevin Jackson is the managing editor for FOX Sports Digital and a lifelong Seattle sports fan.